Economic liberalization, industrial structure and growth in India

The eleven contributions to this book explore the many meanings of economic liberalization. and discuss the various approaches to liberalization.
In its most extreme interpretation liberalization stands for minimal government-the withdrawal of the State from economic activity. But its more limited interpretations often permit the State to play an extensive guiding role. Liberalization is also applied in restricted contexts rather than over the entire domain of economic activity, for example, the liberalization of imports, commercial borrowings and other financial flows, or internal industrial policy.

The perspective from which liberalization is viewed may also differ: it may be considered in the light of a global objective such as optimality of the level and growth of real income, or in terms of its impact on certain aspects of the economy such as industrial structure, technological efficiency or the distribution and allocation of resources.

The general consensus is that liberalization restricted to one area of the economy without major reforms elsewhere is not only fruitless, but may even be counter-productive. The primary case for liberalization rests on a change in the organization of domestic industry which would introduce competitive pressures towards higher performance. Such structural changes are bound to be resisted, yet in their absence liberalization can only remain an empty act.